‘Ride me all day’ bus advert backfires

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

(via @CharlotteChurch, Twitter)

(CNN) — An advertising attempt by a bus company to lure a young crowd has backfired, with social media users sharing it for all the wrong reasons.

New Adventure Travel Limited (NAT Group), based in South Wales, United Kingdom, plastered an advert on the back of their buses which showed a semi-clad woman holding a sign that read: “Ride me all day for £3 ($4.7).”

The same advert promoting the firm’s low-cost fares also featured a half-naked male model, but some argued that reactions to it were markedly different.

A few did see the funny side and even congratulated the company on drawing attention to themselves.

The company issued a statement that said: “Firstly we have stated that our objectives have been to make catching the bus attractive to the younger generation…

“The slogan of ‘ride me all day for £3’ whilst being a little tongue in cheek was in no way intended to cause offence to either men or women and, if the advert has done so then we apologise unreservedly,” they said, adding that they will be removing the adverts within the next 24 hours. The move was commended by the local politician.